Storytelling Returns to Muhlenberg!
Stories matter in our lives of faith. Join a master storyteller to learn how to craft your own story, and attend a special live storytelling event!
Story Slam
Friday, November 14, 2025, 6:30-9:30pm in the Music Suite
Join the Muhlenberg community for a special evening celebrating storytelling! Hear true, personal stories from Muhlenbergers related to the theme: You Are Here: Stories of Place.
Enjoy a coffeehouse vibe with food, drinks, music, and more!
Make it a date night: childcare for age 12 and under is provided.
All events are FREE. Please use the link below to RSVP for the Story Slam!
Workshops
Interested in telling a story of your own? Two-time MOTH Grand Slam winner Pastor Andrea Roske-Metcalfe returns for storytelling workshops!
WORKSHOP 1 - ”Practicing the Craft”
Nov. 6, 6:45pm via Zoom AND/OR Nov. 10, 6:45pm in the Nielsen Room
On November 10, come learn tips and tricks, techniques, things to avoid, and everything else you’ll need to make your stories sing. This session will be full of examples and opportunities for you to practice the craft of storytelling. This is the perfect place to start, even if you missed the previous workshops in May!
Come to the workshop even if you don’t intend to tell a story at the Slam - this is for everyone who is interested in how good stories are constructed.
The Nov. 6 ZOOM workshop is intended as a preview session for much of the content that will be presented on Monday, Nov. 10. This session is especially intended for those who wish to workshop their own stories the following week, and who want more than a day or two to consider best practices. Please also consider attending even if you won’t share a story of your own, but if you’re unable to attend the session on Nov. 10 and wish to offer feedback to the storytellers on Nov. 11 - 13. Connect to this Zoom workshop via our “Sunday Mornings at Muhlenberg” link HERE the day of the event.
WORKSHOP 2 - “Workshop the Story”
Nov. 11, 12, 13, 6:45pm in the Music Suite
Each night, four courageous storytellers will share their stories live without notes. The rest of us will receive this gift and offer our own by way of feedback based on resonance and dissonance. These sessions are powerful learning opportunities even for those who don’t offer a story of their own. The more people we have, the better these stories become!
Come to one, two, or all three nights to hear amazing stories and learn from one another.
Will You Tell A Story?
As you decide whether you want to throw your hat in the ring and be a storyteller at the Slam, here are some things to consider:
Saying you want to tell a story does not lock you in, and saying you don't think you will doesn't mean you can't change your mind later. But it will be helpful to have a general sense of who's interested ahead of time, so be sure to fill out the workshop RSVP regardless.
If you KNOW you want to tell a story, you are encouraged to attend both the Thursday night Zoom AND the Monday night workshop. The Thursday Zoom will give enough information for you to get started writing your story; the Monday workshop will go more in-depth.
If you’d like to tell a story at the Slam, please indicate which of the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday sessions you are available for in the workshop RSVP. This will help us schedule who is workshopping their story on each night.
If we have lots of interest in telling a story, we may add an additional workshop during the day on Thursday so as many people as possible can receive feedback on their story.
If you're not sure...be brave! Give it a try!
And if you're sure you DON'T want to, that's completely ok! You'll learn a lot just by being present, and you'll greatly enhance the experience of others by receiving their stories and providing feedback.
The Theme
The theme of our night of storytelling will be - You Are Here: Stories of Place
Tell a story where “place” features as a central character; a story that couldn’t have happened anywhere else, or one that would have ended entirely differently if it had. A story of being in a completely unfamiliar place, or a place that has only ever felt like home; a story of a place that surprised you, or delighted you, or turned everything you thought you knew on its head. Tell a story that simply wouldn’t be a story, if not for its particular place.
Get your creative juices going and start thinking about stories you could tell!
Want to Learn More?
To learn more about this style of storytelling, visit themoth.org. Plus, you can see an example of this style of storytelling HERE.
Our Presenter
We’re delighted to welcome back Rev. Andrea Roske-Metcalfe to Muhlenberg this fall to help us explore the craft of storytelling and the ways stories impact our faith. Pastor Andrea is the lead pastor of Diamond Lake Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN. She’s also a three-time Moth StorySLAM winner and the 2017 Twin Cities Moth GrandSLAM champion. The Moth (themoth.org) is an organization that celebrates the human experience through the art and craft of true, personal storytelling. The Moth hosts events around the country, and stories from these events are broadcast on The Moth Radio Hour every week on NPR!